


Resting In Her Shade

by Lyric_Hartwell



Series: In Her Shade [1]
Category: Blaseball (Video Game)
Genre: Boston Flowers, F/F, Fluff, The Garden
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25828483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyric_Hartwell/pseuds/Lyric_Hartwell
Summary: Cali helps Beck rest during the extended siesta.
Relationships: Caligula Lotus/Beck Whitney
Series: In Her Shade [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1907278
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24
Collections: No Single Flower Wilted





	Resting In Her Shade

Navigating The Garden is no simple task. Willow trees and cat tails mix with large ferns and heavy jungle vines to obscure any sightlines on the field itself. Tall grass brushing gently at knee level in the halls circling the stadium tickle and distract. Trees burst up through the concrete of any place where they have room to stretch their branches. To those unfamiliar with Bloston, it can be quite an overwhelming ordeal. The frustrated murmurs of Millenials fans can often be heard as they mill about trying to locate snack stands between innings.

For native blostonians, and even some of the players, the shifting between TD Garden, Flenway Park, and the public gardens can confuse carefully memorized pathways. And even when space itself isn't bending around, time can always sneak up instead. The arena looks quite unfamiliar from one decade to another decade.

Perhaps Caligula Lotus is the only one who truly understands the Garden. It's not a voice she hears, but a tingling at the end of her petals. The scent of pollen in the air guiding her where she needs to go. The chirping of blirds and the rustle of squirrels in the bushes tells her where she is, and where she will be next. Attuned to the shifting landscape of The Garden, Cali often wanders in search of the swan boats. Today, they’ve appeared in a far corner of the flenway park diamond.

The light filtering through the tropic canopy above makes a dance of shadows on the surface of the water. Empty boats drift aimlessly and the swans float between them. Fern rides on the back of Juliet as she swims next to her partner Romeo. Cali does not know where the two swans go when their pond vanishes from The Garden, but in the times they’ve appeared in the stadium, they’ve become good friends of her pet frog. Together, the three of them act out peaceful strolls through the pond that blostonians could once enjoy on the boats before the public gardens were paved over by Dunkies Donuts Corp. 

Cali was at first a little nervous not having Fern on her shoulder where she knew he’d be safe, but as with most things in The Garden, she could feel that Romeo and Juliet would take care of him. Sitting in the shade by the pond, eyes up towards the glass dome, watching as the canopy shifted from palm fronds to pine needles to maple leaves. It was a good way to spend the extended hiatus after the last season. Relaxing. Cali knew there was someone else who could do with some relaxing. She only hoped she would be able to follow the directions Cali had texted her.

Eventually, the gentle haze of insects buzzing in the undergrowth was interrupted by heavy rustling. Far too much for a smaller creature. Cali’s petals ruffled in happiness as she sat up. Her eyes scanned the treeline and eventually caught Beck’s small figure pushing her way through the fronds and grass. Beck paused at the edge of the treeline, eyeing the thinning canopy closer to the pond.

“Do you think there’s enough shade over there?” she asked.

Caligula reached a hand up, letting her fingers bloom into large petals, outlined in dark green but shot through with streaks of pink and black. As they finished growing, they settled down into a slightly domed shape, providing a blanket of shade next to her. Beck smiled as she tip-toed her way across the small clearing until sitting down next to Cali in the shade she’d created.

Now assured of protection from the sun, Beck released the breath she’d been holding. She didn’t strictly need to breath, but it was one of many habits she had trouble breaking.

Watching the swans pilot Fern around the pond, Beck let her head rest on Cali’s shoulder. Cali’s petals ruffled again, now tickling Beck’s face causing her to giggle. There wasn’t much need for words between them. Their bodies had a rhythm that fell into sync with each other. In the dugout, on the field, or in moments like this, they gravitated toward each other. Each always most comfortable in the other’s presence.

Being a creature more used to it, Beck was first to talk. “This is beautiful Cali. Thanks for helping me find it. I haven’t really had a lot of time to myself lately. Y’know, running everyone through practice and trying to refit all the old hlockey equipment is still a work in progress.”

The sound of rustling leaves or the brush of petals against skin is usually how Cali prefers to speak, but sometimes being direct, especially when speaking to someone like Beck, is simply the best way to go. “Not alone.”

There’s a quickness to Beck’s words as she responds. “Yeah, yeah of course I know I’m not alone. I mean, I am the only player who’s also a coach, but I know I can ask for help. It’s just... Sometimes it’s better to keep control of what’s going on and that means doing it yourself. Everyone else has to focus on practice if we’re going to do better next season, and outside of that I don’t want to cut into anyone’s siesta time-”

Cali’s voice is quiet, but firm enough to cut her off. “Your siesta?”

There’s a moment of silence before Beck replies. “I’m already doing what I love. Making time to take a break from that, it doesn’t really make sense to me.”

Caligula brings the umbrella a little lower, letting the ends of some of her leaves pet through Beck’s hair. She doesn’t quite know how to say what she knows Beck needs to hear in words. It’s something that Cali lives everyday. She doesn’t even know it in the way most people know things. It is simply in her nature to rest, and be more aware of the world around her than she is of herself. She thinks of the moments before Beck arrived, and she has an idea.

“Look up,” she says.

“Huh? At the umbrella?”

Cali nods. Beck’s expression is quizzical, but she shrugs and looks up at the underside of Cali’s leaves, trusting her girlfriend. As she does, Cali shifts the patterns of pink and green and black to create an image of the sky, pink light peeking through mimicked branches.

Beck’s smiles and laughs gently, gaze meeting the many eyes of her girlfriend. “You’re so sweet.”

Cali’s petals rustle in happiness. “Rest,” she says as she moves the umbrella further back. Beck moves back with it, until she is laying down on the soft grass.

Cali grows the canvas of petals further with a small effort, and continues to change the patterns. Shades of pink paint the sun and clouds and as the image of leaves slowly sway back and forth. She captures a space between canopy and sunlight too dangerous for Beck to see otherwise. A splotch of red imagines a blird flying across the leafy canvas.

They sit like this for several moments. Cali shifting the color of her leaves, painting images for Beck. Taking her mind off of practice or new uniforms, last season or next. Beck watches the painted canopy above her, listens to the sounds of the ever shifting diamond forest. Occasionally watching her girlfriend’s face-petals sway in the wind. After a time she closes her eyes. She doesn’t need to sleep, but sometimes old habits are worth falling back into.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Resting in Her Shade](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26706424) by [elaineofshalott (LadyofMisrule)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyofMisrule/pseuds/elaineofshalott)




End file.
